Economic situation remains stable

31/03/2014 09:30

The economic situation at the end of March remained stable relative to the end of February. Improvements outnumber deteriorations balanced each other out. The heart of the scatter in the Business Cycle Tracer is located in the recovery stage, but eleven of the fifteen indicators are still performing below their long-term average.

The consumer confidence indicator climbed 3 points in March, to reach -7. The mood among consumers has improved considerably, but the indicator is still negative. The mood among manufacturers improved as well. The producer confidence indicator was 1.1 in March, up from -0,1 in February.

Household spending was 1.5 percent down in January 2014 from January 2013.The volume of exports of goods was 0.4 percent down from twelve months previously. Private sector investments in tangible fixed assets were 6.7 percent higher.

The average daily output generated by Dutch manufacturing industry was 2.0 percent up in January 2014 from January 2013. In February, 606 businesses and institutions (excluding one-man businesses) were declared bankrupt.

Developments on the labour market remained negative. The number of job vacancies increased in the fourth quarter, just as the amount of hours worked in stage A temp jobs. The number of jobs, on the other hand, fell further. Seasonally adjusted unemployment increased to 691 thousand in February. With 8.8 percent of the Dutch labour force, unemployment levels remain high.

The most recent figure on economic growth refers to the fourth quarter of 2013. Relative to the third quarter, the Dutch economy grew by 0.9 percent. Calendar and seasonal effects are taken into account in the quarter-on-quarter growth figures. The Dutch economy grew by 0.8 percent relative to the same period one year previously.